The Cursed Planet Malice V

Attack and Defense

Any attack a character makes against an opponent requires a roll, typically a Skill Roll that includes a Weapon Training Skill as one of its components. Attacks may be melee or ranged in nature, depending upon the weapon being used. These rolls are made using the rules included for Skill Rolls above, and the result of an attack roll is compared to the opponent’s Armor TN.

All characters have an Armor TN that is calculated by multiplying their Agility by 5, adding 5, and adding any bonuses that apply to the Armor TN (typically from Stances or from the character wearing armor of some kind). If the result of the attack roll meets or exceeds the target’s Armor TN, then the attack was successful and the opponent was struck with the weapon in question. Damage must now be rolled.

Penalties or bonuses may be applied to attack rolls for a variety of reasons. The most obvious and frequent penalty is for being injured (see Wounds). Any ranged attack made against an opponent who is within melee range also suffers a penalty of -10 to the total of the attack roll, due to the awkwardness of firing at someone who is a direct threat. Additional bonuses and penalties are discussed under Stances and Status Effects, and the GM can apply bonuses or penalties based on specific circumstances (a character trying to attack while balancing on a railing would probably suffer a penalty, for example).

Every weapon has a damage rating (DR). This rating indicates how much damage the weapon inflicts upon those struck with it. A simple sword has DR 2k2. For melee attacks, characters add their Strength to the first number of a weapon’s DR. A character who makes a successful attack roll wielding a sword, and who has Strength 3, would roll 5k2 for damage (3 Strength plus the 2 from the first number of the DR). The character’s player selects the two dice he wishes to keep out of the five and totals them together. This is the number of Wounds the attack has inflicted upon its target. A character adds his Strength to certain types of ranged attacks in the same manner, but not all (see Ranged Attacks).